Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CJ 09031
CJ 09031
REVIEW
ABSTRACT
Biosensors are an important alternative in the food industry to ensure the quality and safety of products and process
controls with effective, fast and economical methods. Their technology is based on a specific biological recognition
element in combination with a transducer for signal processing. The use of enzymatic biosensor technology in food
processing, quality control and on-line processes is promising compared to conventional analytical techniques, as
it offers great advantages due to size, cost, specificity, fast response, precision and sensitivity. This article reviews
the development and use of some enzyme biosensors in the food industry, describes the most important application
areas and analyzes the current situation and future possibilities. In conclusion, enzymatic biosensors are a tool with
broad application in the development of quality systems, risk analysis and critical control points, and the extent of
their use in the food industry is still largely limited by the short lifetime of biosensors, in response to which the use
of thermophilic enzymes has been proposed.
Key words: biosensors, enzymes, analysis in food, safety, quality, control processes.
INTRODUCTION
In recent decades increased knowledge about the
biological capacity of enzymes has made it possible to
create a new generation of products and processes. Among
these products are notably biosensors, which represent a
powerful alternative to conventional analytical technique
(Velasco-Garca and Mottram, 2003). This technology
has advanced considerably in recent years, basically
because of the creation of devices applied in the area of
biomedicine. These advanced technologies have been
gradually transferred horizontally to other sectors, such as
the environment and the agro-food industry.
A biosensor is defined as a compact device for analysis
that incorporates a biological or biomimetic recognition
element (nucleic acid, enzyme, anti-body, receptor, tissue,
cell) associated with a transduction system that allows for
processing the signal produced by the interaction between
the recognition element and the analyte. The principle of
detection of a biosensor is based on the specific interaction
between the analyte of interest and the recognition element.
As a result of this specific interaction, changes are produced
Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Palmira, Facultad de
Ingeniera y Administracin, Carrera 32 Chapinero, Va Candelaria,
Palmira, Colombia.
*
Corresponding author (lsernac@palmira.unal.edu.co).
2
Universidad del Valle, Facultad de Ingeniera, Edificio 338, Espacio
2016, Ciudad Universitaria, Cali, Colombia.
Received: 11 December 2007.
Accepted: 05 May 2008.
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Table 1. Most important biosensors used in the detection of pesticides, fertilizers and other pollutants.
Analyte
Type of
interaction
Recognition
biocatalyzer
Transduction
system
References
Pesticides
Parathion
Biocatalytic Parathion hydrolase
Amperometric
Propoxur and carbaryl Biocatalytic Acetyl cholinesterase
Fiber optic
Diazinon and dichlorvos Biocatalytic Tyrosinase
Amperometric
Paraoxon
Biocatalytic Alkaline phosphatase
Optical
Velasco-Garca y
Mottram, 2003;
Parellada et al., 1998
Nunes et al., 1998;
Xavier et al., 2000
Prez Pita et al., 1997;
Mello y Kubota, 2002
Cosnier et al., 1998;
Mello and Kubota,
2002; Patel, 2002
Fertilizers
Nitrate
Biocatalytic
Nitrite
Biocatalytic
Phosphate
Biocatalytic
Nitrate reductase
Nitrite reductase
Polyphenol oxidase and
alkaline phosphatase,
phosphorylase A,
phosphoglucomutase and
glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase
Amperometric
Optical
Amperometric
Heavy metals
Copper and mercury
Biocatalytic Spirulina subsalsa
Amperometric
Copper
Biocatalytic Recombinant Saccharomyces Amperometric
cerevisiae
Cadmium and lead
Biocatalytic Staphylococcus aureus or
Optical
Recombinant Bacillus subtilis
Arsenic, cadmium and Biocatalytic Cholinesterase
Electrochemical
bismuth
Cadmium, copper,
Biocatalytic Ureasa
Optical
chrome, nickel, zinc
Copper and mercury
Biocatalytic Glucose oxidase
Amperometric
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Analyte
Type of
interaction
Recognition
system
Transduction
system
References
Antinutrients
Oxalate (spinaches, tea, strawberries) Biocatalytic Oxalate oxidase
Amygdalin (bitter almonds)
Biocatalytic -glucosidase
Glucoalcaloides
Biocatalytic Cholinesterase
been conducted that analyzes the content of some organic
acids and sugars as indicators of fruit and vegetable
maturity (ngeles and Caizares, 2004).
There are multiple compounds that give rise to
disagreeable flavors and aromas that can be detected
with biosensors, as in the case of 2,4,6-tricloroanisole
in wine (Moore et al., 2003), which is related to wine
bottle corks, whose presence causes significant losses to
the wine industry. In other cases, the level of freshness
of fish has been detected through a hydrogen peroxide
electrode based on the xanthine oxidase enzyme (Volpe
and Mascini, 1996). Biosensors can also detect indicators
of processes, such as lactulose, disaccharide, which
is formed in the thermal treatment of milk allows for
distinguishing between milk that has been submitted to a
UHT treatment (ultra high temperature) and milk sterilized
in the container.
Applications in process control. Currently, thanks
to biosensor technology it is possible to determine and
quantify on-line diverse compounds of importance in
process control, such as sugars, alcohols, and amino acids,
among others.
Sugars are limiting factors in fermentative processes
given that low concentrations reduce the productivity of
the bioreactor. Because of this, numerous investigations
have been undertaken, among which notably are those
on the use of amperometric biosensors to analyze
glucose with glucose oxidase in fruit juices (ngeles
and Caizares, 2004); lactose with -galactosidase and
glucose oxidase; and lactulose with -galactosidase and
fructose dehydrogenase, which implies an excessive
thermal treatment of milk during pasteurization (Camps
et al., 2002). In relation to alcohols and principally
ethanol, enzymatic reactions are inhibited when alcohol
content exceeds 14%; analysis has been advanced mainly
with the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme Gluconobacter
oxydans with amperometric biosensors; likewise, with
fermentation, the proportion of glycerol should be
maintained at 1:10 in relation to total alcohol, the analysis
of glycerol has been developed with glycerokinase
and glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase in amperometric
biosensors to monitor fermentative processes (Niculescu
et al., 2003). On the other hand, aminoacids like lysine,
Amperometric
Amperometric
Potentiometric
Potentiometric
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Analyte
Matrix
Glucose
Fructose
Lactose
Milk
Lactate
Lactulose
Milk
L-amino
acids
L-glutamate
L-lysine
L-malate
Ethanol
Glycerol
Wine
Catechol
Cholesterol
Beer
Butter, lard and egg
Citric acid
Lecithin
Recognition
enzyme
Glucose oxidase
Transduction
system
Amperometric
Fructose dehydrogenase,
D-fructose 5dehydrogenase
-Galactosidase
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
L-glutamate oxidase
Amperometric
Lysine oxidase
Amperometric
Dehydrogenated malate,
others
Alcohol oxidase, alcohol
dehydrogenase, NaDH
oxidase
Glycerophosphate
oxidase and glycerol
kinase
Polyphenol oxidase
Cholesterol oxidase and
peroxidase
Citrate lyase
Phospholipase D and
choline oxidase
Amperometric
References
Centonze et al., 1997;
ngeles y Caizares, 2004
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Electrochemical
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Analyte
Matrix
Recognition
enzyme
Transduction
system
References
Evaluation of spoilage
Polyphenols
Olive oil
Tyrosinase, laccase
Amperometric
Short chain
fatty acid
Lipase
Electrochemical
Ornititne carbamoyl
transferase, nucleoside
phosphorylase and
xanthine oxidase
Diamine oxidase,
Ornithine carbamoyl
transferase, nucleoside
phosphorylase
Amine oxidase and
peroxidase
Xanthine oxidase
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Amperometric
Hu et al., 2000
Xanthine oxidase,
diamine oxidase
Polymide oxidase
Amperometric
Electrochemical
Electrochemical
Potentiometric
Freshness index
Ornithine
and amines
Shrimps
Amines
Fish, lobster
Biogenic
amines
Hypoxan
thine
Lactic acid
Fish
Fish
Meat
Evaluation of maturity
Glucose
Sucrose
Fruit
Fruit
Isocitrate
Fruit
Glucose oxidase
Invertase, mutarotase and
glucose oxidase
Isocitrate dehydrogenase
RESUMEN
Uso de biosensores enzimticos como indicadores
de calidad: Una sinopsis del presente y futuro en la
industria alimentaria. Los biosensores constituyen
una importante alternativa en la industria de alimentos
para garantizar la calidad e inocuidad de los productos
y controlar los procesos con mtodos eficaces, rpidos y
econmicos; su tecnologa est basada en un elemento de
reconocimiento biolgico especfico en combinacin con
un transductor para el procesamiento de la seal. El uso de
tcnicas de biosensores enzimticos en procesamiento de
alimentos, control de calidad y de procesos on line, es
prometedor frente a las tcnicas analticas convencionales,
ya que ofrecen grandes ventajas debido a su tamao, costo,
278
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